CVE-2025-68169 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2025-68169
Vulnerability Scoring

Analysis In Progress

Attack Complexity Details

Attack Complexity:
Attack Complexity Analysis In Progress
Attack Vector:
Attack Vector Under Analysis
Privileges Required: None
No authentication is required for exploitation.
Scope:
Impact is confined to the initially vulnerable component.
User Interaction: None
No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2025-68169 Details

Status: Awaiting Analysis

Last updated: 🕒 18 Dec 2025, 15:08 UTC
Originally published on: 🕑 16 Dec 2025, 14:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 2 days

CVSS Release:

CVE-2025-68169 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2025-68169: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netpoll: Fix deadlock in memory allocation under spinlock Fix a AA deadlock in refill_skbs() where memory allocation while holding skb_pool->lock can trigger a recursive lock acquisition attempt. The deadlock scenario occurs when the system is under severe memory pressure: 1. refill_skbs() acquires skb_pool->lock (spinlock) 2. alloc_skb() is called while holding the lock 3. Memory allocator fails and calls slab_out_of_memory() 4. This triggers printk() for the OOM warning 5. The console output path calls netpoll_send_udp() 6. netpoll_send_udp() attempts to acquire the same skb_pool->lock 7. Deadlock: the lock is already held by the same CPU Call stack: refill_skbs() spin_lock_irqsave(&skb_pool->lock) <- lock acquired __alloc_skb() kmem_cache_alloc_node_noprof() slab_out_of_memory() printk() console_flush_all() netpoll_send_udp() skb_dequeue() spin_lock_irqsave(&skb_pool->lock) <- deadlock attempt This bug was exposed by commit 248f6571fd4c51 ("netpoll: Optimize skb refilling on critical path") which removed refill_skbs() from the critical path (where nested printk was being deferred), letting nested printk being called from inside refill_skbs() Refactor refill_skbs() to never allocate memory while holding the spinlock. Another possible solution to fix this problem is protecting the refill_skbs() from nested printks, basically calling printk_deferred_{enter,exit}() in refill_skbs(), then, any nested pr_warn() would be deferred. I prefer this approach, given I _think_ it might be a good idea to move the alloc_skb() from GFP_ATOMIC to GFP_KERNEL in the future, so, having the alloc_skb() outside of the lock will be necessary step. There is a possible TOCTOU issue when checking for the pool length, and queueing the new allocated skb, but, this is not an issue, given that an extra SKB in the pool is harmless and it will be eventually used.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2025-68169

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2025-68169 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2025-68169

No exploitability data is available for CVE-2025-68169.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2025-68169, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2025-68169, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

Confidentiality: None
CVE-2025-68169 does not compromise confidentiality.
Integrity: None
CVE-2025-68169 does not impact data integrity.
Availability: None
CVE-2025-68169 does not affect system availability.

CVE-2025-68169 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

Unknown

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